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Diamond Jubilee Meet at SMC Club Hut Dinas Mawddwy 13-15th July 2018

We were once again blessed with fabulous weather throughout the whole of the Diamond Jubilee Meet at our club hut in Dinas Mawddwy. For all those who came along it was an excellent reminder of what a fabulous location our hut is situated in and how lucky we are to have use of it. In all, thirteen members attended, plus a special visit from Helen, Sam, Andrew and Alice on Saturday evening.

Donna and new member Andrew arrived at the hut on Friday evening along with Ross and Hannah. On Saturday they made an attempt on Cadir Idris in the full heat of the summer sun. The temptation of a lovely cooling dip was ultimately too much to resist and they ended up taking a diversion to Lyn Cau for an afternoon swim, and who can blame them!

Ian and John R left Birmingham bright and early on Saturday morning with a trip to the Rhinogs firmly in their sights. On Saturday they spent a sizeable amount of time tramping up hill and through bracken in search of Craig y Merched (Crag of the Maidens). Eventually they found this collection of crags in a rarely trod part of the Rhinogs, and managed to do a couple of routes on the Upper Crag before dropping down to Rhino’s Buttress. And guess what? The rock is grit, yes grit in Wales. Grey and coarse with fantastic friction but with few enough ascents for each route to feel like a new route. An adventurous day, made all the more interesting by the barely useful directions of the guidebook.

For other participants the meet started off at a leisurely pace. Mike D and Jo and Pete and Clare left Birmingham on Saturday morning. In the afternoon they all went for a local walk enjoying the beautiful scenery, rounded off by a trip to the hut’s local pub, the Red Lion. Mark H arrived on Saturday afternoon and went on a local walk too. Rob T and Al spent their journey to the hut visiting various food emporiums for coffee and cake and lunch too. It was tough going but they powered through arriving at the hut with cake to share!

As Saturday evening approached, the BBQs were fired up and soon a wide selection of delicious food was being cooked. A special mention must go to super chefs Hannah and Ross who rustled up a fabulous selection of salads for us all to enjoy. It was a top effort from both of them.

It was great to catch up with Sam and Helen. Little Alice and her brother Andrew had lots of fun exploring the hut, supervised by Daddy. Its various nooks and crannies, in particular, fascinated Andrew. Maybe, one day, he will follow in his Dad’s footsteps as Club Warden!

Last to the BBQ party was John and Ian, who finally made it back from the Rhinogs, arriving at Bryn Golau long after most people had already tucked into their food but well before the fires had died down. Beer, BBQ and plenty of banter, it was a great evening for all.

On Sunday morning, Ian and John were up bright and early, in anticipation of another long walk in search of more Rhinog grit. They eventually found Craig y Groes a couple of kilometres north-east of the Roman Steps. For the intrepid pair, this rounded off a great weekend exploring the wonderfully remote and isolated crags near our own club hut that few people visit.

Most of the remaining party went for a lovely walk up over the mines and back down the Measglase valley. Rob and Al stayed behind, doing an excellent job of tidying up the hut, before going off to do some cycling.

In the afternoon, Jo, Mike, Andrew, Pete and Clare made an attempt to take down the hut’s wind turbine so it could be taken away for a much needed service. Mike made a challenging ascent on the ladder, seconded by Jo, in an effort to unscrew the turbine whilst Pete, Andrew and Clare manned the ropes. Unfortunately the turbine was not going to budge, so it will be a job for another day when we can return with more tools!

All in all, this was a great meet with everyone having lots of fun doing a wide range of activities. We can now look forward to the next Club Hut Meet on 27th to 28th October, for a ‘Spooky Saturday’ party night at the Red Lion and much more besides!